Improvement in reed-organs



2 Sheets-Sheet'1. C. AUSTIN.

REED-ORGAN. No.176,574. Patented Apri125, 1876.

W2? INVENTOR ATTORNEYS N, PETERS. PHDYO-LITHDGRAPNER. WASHINGTON. D C.

2 Sheets-$heet 2.

C. AUSTIN.

REED-ORGAN.

Pate nte d April 25-, 1876.

IIIIIIIIlI/IIIIIIII INVENTOR,

N EYS N-PIKTERS, PHDTO-LITHQGRAPMER, WASHINGTON. D C.

' suitable trunks.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrca CHARLES AUSTIN, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN REED-ORGANS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l 76,57 1, dated April25, 1876; application filed January 29, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES AUSTIN, of Lowell, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and valuableImprovement in Organs and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the construction I and operationof the same, reference being had thereof.

This invention has relation to improvements in organs.

The object of the invention is to provide means whereby the reeds andtheir operatin g mechanisms may be got at for repairs and tuning withoutopening the wind-chest, or detaching the latter from its position abovethe key-board. It also consists in an equalizingspring, so arranged inconnection with a rotating coupling-shaft that when one or more octavesare coupled, the eifort required to operate them shall be neithergreater nor less than that necessary to operate a single key. It alsoconsists in certain minor improvements, whereby very useful results areobtained in facilitating the operation of the mechanical parts of theorgan, as will be hereinafter more fully explained and claimed.

I11 the annexed drawings, the letter A designates the frame of myimproved organ. B B are wind-chests, arranged one above the other, andcommunicating the one with the other, and with an exhaust-bellows, O, bymeans of The reeds of this organ are designed to. be sounded by means ofan exhaust-bellows on the American system, arranged in any suitablesituation in relation to the frame, and are secured on top thewindchests in reed-boxes D D. These windchests are sectional, as shownin Fig. 2, a certain interval being left between them for the receptionof a tracker-rod, E, which is operated in the usual manner by means ofthe key-lever F, having its fulcrum at a in a longitudinal strip, 1),shown in Fig. 3.

This rod is provided with adjustable collars c c, the first of whichoperates vertically a vibrating valve, 61, on top of the upperreed-boxes D, which contain reeds e, differing in no essentialparticulars from those in common use, and the secondvertically-vibrating valves 01, which close the openings in the tops ofthe lower reed-boxes D. When the key-lever F is depressed, tracker rod Ewill be raised, and valves d d actu ated to open reed-boxes D D, and it,now, the exhaust-bellows C be operated, the reeds within the said boxeswill be sounded simultaneously, producing a unison of remarkablerichness, the notes of which agree in pitch but differ in timbre orquality of tone. It is evident that by increasing the number of chests,arranged the one above the other, the number of reeds may also beincreased at pleasure, and the richness of the tone obtained from asingle key or stop increased by the new combinations with thefundamental note. It will also be evident that the tracker-rods, beingexterior to the wind-chests and entirely disconnected therefrom, may bereadily got at to repair any injury which may have occurred withoutopening the chests, and that being separate therefrom and not passingthrough the said chests, all liability of their causing the same to leakis effectually done away with. The reed-boxes being upon the top of thewind-chests, and the reeds being readily dctached therefrom, the lattermay also be readily reached without removing the said boxes from thechests. In practice, in order to improve the quality of the tone I shallemploy a supplementary reed, G, on the wind chests, above which will besupported, by means of rod f, a resonance-chamber, g. When thisqualification is requisite, a valve'in the windchest will be opened by asuitable stop, thus establishing a communication between the chest andthe said reed, when the exhaustive action of the bellows will draw theair between the reed and chamber, causing the latter to be sounded. 7

When pipes, as for instance the hautboy H, are designed to be used theywill be mounted in a supplementary box, I, either in a vertical orhorizontal position, as the shape of the organ-case will permit, whichbox will communicate with the wind-chest, and will be 2 I Mean sounded,when necessary, by opening a valve, t, by means of a suitable stop; or Imay use a coupler, which, when operated, will open the said valve h, andcause the reed at the base of the pipe to be sounded bythe actuation ofthe key, and the operation of the exhausthellows. This effect will beaccomplished by means of a tracker-rod, J, passing through a which isprovided with a rod, Z, the upper end of which is in contact withkey-lever K.

Lever L is operated to effect a coupling in the following manner, toWit: A preferablyrectangular bar, M, is arranged in bearings under thekeyboard of my improved organ, and is provided with endwise-movable andcross-headed pinsp 12, arranged at rightangles to each other through thesaid bar, as shown in Fig. 4. When bar M is caused torotate by means ofalever, m, arranged at one end, pin 1) will be thrown into a verticalposition, its cam-shaped head t" being under keylever F, and its lowerend resting upon the couplingbar L. If the said key-lever F be nowoperated pin 1) will be thrust through bar M, and will actuate thelatter to open valve it through the medium of tracker-rod J and rod 1.When the finger is removed from lever F springs s, which close valves dd, will return it to its normal position in the key-board; but if thecoupling-bar M be reversed pin 19 will be turned at right angles to itsformer position, and pin 19 will assume the position vacated by it, whenan uncoupling will be effected. In this position the cam-shaped orrounded head of pin 1) will be under lever F, and if the latter be nowdepressed an equalizingspring, S, se cured by one end to the bar M, andhaving the other under head i, will be compressed.

This spring is of such strength that the power required to depress thekey-lever F will be the same whether the said lever be coupled or not,and a similar spring being arranged under each lever of the key-board,or under so many as are designed to be coupled with others, the effortrequired to operate a key-lever will be the same under anycircumstances, whether it be coupled with another or not, and equal tothat required to operate any other key of the bank. The effect of thisis to render the performance of the organ regular and even, and toproduce a degree of harmony unattainable by any other means, because ofthe regularity of touch required to sound any note.

In practice, reed-boxes D D will be open in front for the purpose ofallowing the reed to be readily inserted or removed therefrom, and thisopening will be automatically closed, when the valves 01 d are raised,and the bellows worked by, preferably, leather clappers,

which are drawn in over the said openings by the suction of air.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a spaced sectional windchest, B B, and anintermediate trackerrod, E, substantially as specified, and for thepurpose set forth.

2. In combination with the pipe-box I, having valve h, the wind-chest B,having tubular sleeve j, adapted to receive a tracker-rod, J, foroperating the said valve, substantially as specified.

3. In combination with the reeds of an organ the supplementary reed G,having a re.

sonance-chamber, g, suspended above it, substantially as specified.

4. In combination with the wind-chests B B, the reed-boxes D D",arranged on top of the same, substantially as specified.

5. In combination with the tracker-rod E the spaced horizontalwind-chests B B, reedboxes D, and valve d, closing both reed-boxes,substantially as specified.

6. In combination with the key F the endwise-movablepinp and acompensating-spring, S, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my namein the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES AUSTIN. Witnesses:

J. F. HASKELL, O. J. EASTMAN.

